Xref: utzoo comp.misc:5672 comp.editors:604
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!TAURUS.BITNET!zifrony
From: zifrony@TAURUS.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.editors
Subject: Re: UNIX needs a real text editor (2-nd Repost)
Message-ID: <1004@taurus.BITNET>
Date: 29 Mar 89 12:38:03 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: <zifrony%TAURUS.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Organization: Tel-Aviv Univesity Math and CS school, Israel
Lines: 50



In article <743@stag.UUCP>, trb@stag.BITNET writes:
> ... My idea of an ideal editor is one that 1) allows
> multi-file editing with a clean and fast buffering scheme, 2) fully
> supports folding, 3) allows the programmer to relate lines and words
> and use these relationships in a hyper-text like manner (i.e. moving
> back and forth between a program document and the appropriate lines
> of code at the press of a few keys), 4) has configurations save and
> restore modes (so you can get back to EXACTLY the same place you left
> off editing the day before...with all buffer info intact), and 5) has
> more intelligence built in (rather than interpreted in macros.
>
> ...  (Deleted stuff)
>
>   -Todd Burkey
>    trb@stag.UUCP
>    or ... tburkey@eta.com

In addition, I think that there is a need for the following features, which
can make life much better for the editor's users:

1. A two window option, like in DEC's EVE, to better utilize the multi-file
   editing capability.

2. A recovery mechanism after a crash is more than welcome.  If editable, like
   the editing journal in DEC's environment, it could be used to suppress
   a few bad commands entered mistakingly during the editing session.
   I must state that vi supports a recovery after crash mechanism as well.

3. Have the result of a pushed system command (like :!<cmd> or EVE's
   DCL command) be put in a new editing buffer, so it can be looked at,
   and incorporated in the files being edited.

Unfortunately, vi does not support these features in a satisfying way; alas,
no better alternative is available in the standard UnIX environment.
(I know of GNU Emacs, but I don't think it is supplied with each UnIX system,
 and it is worse to learn than vi, and requires a lot of time investment to
 be utilized in a good way).

Working with a SUN workstation, I find TEXTEDIT, the mouse-based editor, and
the possibility to have a few copies of it concurrently, as a compensation
for the lack of nice features.  This editor is operated very quickly, and
apart of the unavailability of a native "operate a command on all the file",
it is very convenient (I have vi to do major replacements).

Doron  Zifrony  zifrony%Taurus.bitnet@Cunyvm.cuny.edu    or
Msc.   Student  zifrony@Math.Tau.Ac.IL
Tel Aviv Univ.
Israel